


A Family Dynamic

by SoloShikigami



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Sequel, The Core (Undertale), The Void
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-06-02 12:51:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6567076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoloShikigami/pseuds/SoloShikigami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's normal for things to change after horrific events; a near-death and travel to another dimension will do that. Will Sans and Papyrus ever be able to return their lives to normal?<br/>A sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/6233173/chapters/14282005">He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother"</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Life at First

            Sans placed a cup of coffee in front of Papyrus, whose elbows were propped on the table and he held his head in his hands. Sans slid into his seat across from him, one arm draping over the back of his chair while the other lifted his coffee to his mouth.

            Both brothers looked tired, even borderline exhausted. That was barely anything new for Sans; if one knew him well enough, they would know the dark lines under his eyes weren't just a part of his skeleton aesthetic. However, he didn't look quite so tired so often when they came to the surface.

            Papyrus was never tired. He was always full of energy and motivation, always had something to do, and could always find things that had to be done. Now he had his own dark lines under his eyes. Sans even found him dozing off while washing their breakfast dishes yesterday and he outright refused the notion of taking a nap.

            Something was wrong.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 

_After Papyrus told Sans what had happened to him, Sans tried to get them back to their house and out of Toriel's way later that evening._

_"Forget it, young skeleton, I am not letting the two of you out of my sight until you are fully healed," Toriel had scolded, pushing Sans back down when he tried to get out of bed._

_As if agreeing, the sleeping Papyrus had tightened his grip around Sans' waist._

_~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~_

_"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I WAS SLEEPING FOR FOUR DAYS?!?!" Papyrus shouted._

_Even though it was nearly a week after Papyrus re-appeared, everyone still was spending most of their time in and around Toriel's house to help care for the two brothers as they recovered as they had some way to go before they really could be on their own. The bruise on Papyrus' head slowly shrank, but he still got dizzy spells, stumbled into walls, and seemed to tire easily. Sans himself had some issues moving around – he couldn’t sit up on his own or walk sometimes - but that could be expected being bedridden for two and a half weeks. Sans also had none of his usual strength, which was made clear when he tried to catch Papyrus during one of his dizzy spells and Frisk found both skeletons passed out in the hallway._

_Sans was a little surprised that Toriel allowed them to sit at the table for breakfast instead of just one or two of them joining the brothers in the bedroom._

_Undyne laughed at Papyrus' outburst. "You heard us, nerd - you were missing for two weeks, you slept for four, and here we are at day two of your recovery."_

_"And you keep telling them I'm lazy," Sans said, winking at the others. "As you all can see now, it just runs in the family tree."_

_"IT DOES NOT!" Papyrus grumbled._

_"It's okay that you're **branching** out though, bro," Sans winked._

_"SANS..."_

_Alphys and Frisk hid their smiles._

_"Sorry, Papyrus, it's hard for me to **leaf** it alone."_

_"OH MY STARS!"_

_"Ah, come on, I see you're trying not to smile. That's the **root** of your problem, you know."_

_Papyrus let his head drop to the table as Toriel, Alphys, and Frisk stopped trying to hide their laughter._

_"Okay, you guys, care to **chlorophyll** me in on what's been going on while we were hibernating?"_

_"THAT WAS A STRETCH AND YOU KNOW IT!" Papyrus' voice was muffled as he had not lifted his head._

_"Nothing of any particular significance," Toriel said, setting down breakfast for everyone._

_"We were all so worried, we took turns watching over you," Alphys said._

_"There were a couple of times you made some weird noises, though," Undyne said. "Like you were talking, but it didn't sound like anything I've ever heard."_

_"Huh, I didn't think that I talked in my sleep."_

_"You don't," Papyrus supplied._

_Sans' face furrowed a little in thought. He still knew how to speak a few words in hands, but he didn't want to scare anyone with it. But he didn't know if it would be something significant for later..._

_"Did it sound like this?" Sans took a moment to clear his throat while everyone turned to him. " **Papyrus** ," he said in the odd language._

_"What?" Papyrus turned to him, recognizing his name somehow._

_"Yeah, it sounded like that," Undyne said._

_"What did you say?" Frisk asked._

_"Eh, not sure, was just a word," Sans lied._

_He noticed Papyrus was giving him an odd look; he knew his older brother was lying, but there was a reason that Sans wasn't saying a lot to their friends and would ask him at a better time._

_"Yeah, you were making weird noises like that," Undyne confirmed, taking a huge bite of her breakfast._

_"Huh. Maybe it's the way we skeletons snore," Sans mused._

_Everyone ate their breakfast and carried on with general conversation. Sans took more time observing his brother and the others, and he noticed that Toriel and Alphys were watching them both closely as well._

_Another day or two later and Sans insisted that he was at least strong enough to care for himself and Papyrus, who was doing better and regaining some of his old energy._

_"If you are certain," Toriel said with a disapproving air. "You realize that if you didn’t live next door I would not allow this."_

_"Yeah, I know. Listen Tori, I really am thankful for what you've done for us. I'll find a way to pay you back somehow."_

_The goat monster pulled the skeleton in for a hug. "Don't you think on that for a second," she said with a scolding tone. "This is what friends do for one another. You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?"_

_Sans nodded. "Yeah, of course I would."_

_"There you are then," she let Sans go. "I am still sending Frisk over with dinner for you both later; cooking is something you two shouldn't need to worry about and you can't recover on spaghetti alone."_

_"Can't get anything **pasta** you, Tor."_

_"You can **spaghet-** about it."_

_"Heh, nice one."_

_The two brothers felt much more relaxed being back in their own home. After a few more days, though, Sans knew that something was different; something was wrong._

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 

           "Was it another nightmare?" Sans asked quietly after Papyrus finally took a shaky sip of his coffee.

            "Yes," Papyrus murmured.

            "What happened in this one?"

            "I- you- we-" Papyrus stammered, and Sans could see the tears falling onto the table as Papyrus started to shake. "They killed us, Sans, they-"

            Sans shook his head slowly with a sigh, got up from his chair, and moved to embrace Papyrus as he began to cry.

            At first, Papyrus' nightmares were mostly twisted rehashings of what he had been through, worst case scenarios that his brain made consisting of not reaching Sans in time or Sans being disappointed in him - typical nightmares after enduring such a stressful event.

            But now he was having nightmares that sounded uncomfortably familiar to Sans - slashes of red staining snow and dirt, friends and family fading to dust as a human child stood over them, one that looked like Frisk, but knew it wasn't Frisk, demonic talking yellow flowers…

            Papyrus was dreaming of resets and Sans was at a loss for why.

            "I promise you, Papyrus, they're just dreams and nightmares," Sans assured him, rubbing his brother's back. "Figments of your imagination; none of it is real."

            "I want to believe that, Brother, I really do," Papyrus said with a sniffle. "I wish I could just make myself believe it."

            "It takes time. Don't be too hard on yourself."

            Sans' mind was already, had already been, thinking of why this was happening to Papyrus and how to make it stop, but nothing was coming to mind.

            Papyrus had told him about seeing the memories in the void, understood that because Papyrus had a piece of Sans’ soul that he could access the memories that he had as a very, very young child. But then, why was he having the dreams about the resets? That didn't even begin until after they had moved to Snowdin and Papyrus had been a full grown adult by then.

Could meeting with their father have triggered something? Offhand, Sans didn't think so; the resets, of course, had happened long after he was gone. But Sans didn't know for certain what exactly had happened, and Papyrus had been unconscious at least twice and Dr. Gaster sounded like a fairly sick individual. Sans wouldn't put it past him to do something that even their father didn't know about or see him do.

            His Father. Their Father.

            Sans still had slightly mixed feelings about the monster, remembering too well the (blessedly) few dark years before they separated, however Sans wanted to forgive him for what had happened, it was just that it was difficult for him to forgive someone he no longer could see or speak to. Sans was usually too lazy to hold a grudge like that, but in his mind he felt that if he forgave, he would forget, and his father would fade away forever. He would be out of sight and out of mind. Forgiving him, to Sans at least, meant to stop caring, and the moment he stopped caring was the moment he would fade, and Sans didn't want to let go. Not yet.

            Not yet.

            Sans gave his brother another squeeze.

            "Not letting go, not yet," he murmured.

 

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 

            The front door slammed shut, yanking Sans out of his impromptu nap at the kitchen table, which was covered with notes. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he imagined the loud noise until he heard a sniffle in the living room. Sans left the table and was shocked to see Papyrus leaning against the door, his arms wrapped tightly around himself, tears slowly falling from his eyes.

            "Papyrus?"

            The tall skeleton jumped, quickly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Oh, hi, Sans, I had no idea that you were home."

            "Why are you home? Are you still not feeling well? I told you to not go back to work if you weren't ready. Taking extra time is perfe-"

            "They fired me."

            Sans' head snapped back as if he had been slapped.

            "What was that?"

            "They fired me, Sans."

            "What the- why?!"

            "Between missing for two weeks, the other week recovering, and I keep messing things up because I'm too tired and can't concentrate."

            Sans frowned deeply; not only did he feel completely responsible for Papyrus' absence, but he resented anyone who made his little brother cry.

            "I ought to go down there and show them," Sans growled.

            "Please, Sans, it isn't worth it," Papyrus said with a sigh. " _I'm_ not worth it."

            Sans took a step back again, not only feeling like he had been slapped but also sucker punched.

            "Papyrus, how could you say that?" Sans murmured.

            Papyrus sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands. "I don't know, Sans, I just... I need some water."

            Papyrus pushed off the door and brushed by Sans, who still stood feeling a little dumbfounded at his brother's confession. He slowly turned around and walked quietly, slowly to the kitchen, peeking around the edge of the doorway and watched Papyrus just leaning his head on the front of the freezer door, his right hand still holding the glass he took, even though it was set on the counter, his left hand loose around the handle of the refrigerator.

            Sans watched him as he just breathed slowly, quietly, as if calming himself from an outburst.

            "Papyrus," Sans ventured quietly. "What exactly did they say to you?"

            Papyrus shook his head slightly. "They were very nice; it's not like the movies where they yell at you."

            "Well, usually in the movies, the person getting fired had done something wrong," Sans said.

            "Mr. Woods said that my work performance wasn't up to company standards and they had to let me go," Papyrus explained. "He was very nice, apologized even."

            "That's still a bunch of bullshit, but now I'm even more concerned why you said you weren't worth it."

            Papyrus turned around, his back hitting the refrigerator before sliding down to sit on the floor, apparently forgetting about water, and sighed.

            "I don't know, Sans, I just keep feeling these horrible things. It's like I hear these terrible voices in my head, and they say the most dreadful things, and I know they're wrong and untrue, but I just don't know what to do about them."

            This was sounding even more and more familiar, much to Sans' dismay. He went over and kneeled in front of Papyrus, reaching over and putting his hands on his little brothers’ shoulders.

            "What are they saying to you?" Sans asked quietly. "Tell me, bro. Let me help you."

            Papyrus looked up, meeting his brother's eyes, and something in him snapped.

            He was never all that good at keeping things to himself.

            "I'm worthless because nothing I do matters. It won't matter how hard I try, the results will always be the same. Everyone is going to suffer because of my failure," Papyrus' voice was mostly monotonous as he spilled each dark thought that plagued his mind. "I'm not so sure about that last one, though," he admitted. "I mean, frankly, no one is really affected by my failures... As far as I know..."

            Sans gripped Papyrus' shoulders, almost too tightly.

            "Oh, stars, damn it all to hell," Sans growled.

            Papyrus blinked at him and Sans sighed before putting a hand on his brother's cheekbone.

            "Heh, well, it's probably a good thing you got fired, bro. I was going to do this on my own, but hey, since you got some free time now."

            Sans stood and held a hand out for Papyrus. Papyrus gave Sans an uncertain glance, but took his hand and got to his feet. Sans grinned widely at him and jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen table. They went over and Papyrus' eyes wandered over the papers that littered it.

            "What is all of this?" Papyrus murmured.

            "Some things that I brought with me from home," Sans said. "I know you probably can't read a lot of it, so you won't really be able to put two and two together."

            Sans pushed a few papers aside, searching for something specific, and finding it quickly. The piece of paper with symbols few could read, and though Papyrus wasn't one of them, he knew what it was.

            "The letter from Father," Papyrus murmured, slowly taking the paper from Sans' hand. He looked over the symbols and sighed. "Is it silly to miss someone I spent so little time with?"

            "Not at all, but I was thinking that you might get a kick out of seeing him again."

            Papyrus looked up. "Sans, what are you talking about? If this is a joke, it's not funny."

            "Papyrus, bro, what do you think I've been doing since we got home? I've been looking for a way into the void."

            "... Sans, that is _really_ not funny."

            "I'm not joking! You and Dad found each other by dumb luck! I'm sure he's still finding a way back to reality, so why don't we see if we can beat him to it?"

            Papyrus gave Sans a hard look that was tinged with worry.

            "I really don't think that it's a good idea, Sans."

            Sans looked confused. "Seriously? Why not? I thought you'd be jumping with joy over this! I thought you would want to see Dad again!"

            "Now you must be joking; of course I want to see Father again! Do you have any idea how many times since I've returned I've dreamed of Father returning so that we can be a family?"

            "At least eight."

            "That is... Frighteningly accurate."

            "Who calmed you down from those dreams, Pap?"

            "Ah, right. But still, I mean, were you even _listening_ when I've told you about the void? Not much makes sense there, not even to Father. Even Dr. Gaster didn't have complete control and that's what he had been working to achieve for years! How are we going to compete with that?!"

            "I'm sure by now Dad has figured out something where Dr. Gaster won't be a threat. Even then, you fought him and won!"

            "I did not," Papyrus let the letter fall from his hands and he turned away.

            "What are you talking about? You said so yourself-"

            Papyrus' fists clenched and he spun on his brother, his long legs carrying him to stand in front of him in an instant. He lifted the side of his shirt where Dr. Gaster had singed his ribs - while they no longer hurt, they were still slightly blackened.

            "If you weren't there to protect me, _like you pretty much always are_ , who knows what would have happened," Papyrus said in a tone that made Sans shudder; it was serious, low, quiet, and almost dangerous. "Again, I do not think you have been listening when I told you what had happened. Going back there is dangerous. You nearly died, Sans, and you would have for sure if I didn't make it back. I almost DIDN'T make it back. Do you understand yet?"

            Sans stared up at his taller brother, really taking in exactly how much taller he was from Sans. Papyrus watched carefully; despite his eyes going blank, he could still read his brother's emotions, and they went from angry to confused to sad and back again. But he was patient and he would wait to see which emotion Sans decided to latch onto.

            "Look, I didn't mean to bring up all of the bullshit you had to go through. I can't tell you how grateful I am, how loved I feel, that you did that," he reached and took one of Papyrus' hands. "Seriously, bro, talk about going above and beyond the call of duty."

            "You would have done the same for me," Papyrus said, beginning to feel calm himself. "And let's face it, you did. Letting someone, your own father even, basically run an experimental surgery on you just to save a life?"

            "The life of a tiny, innocent baby who happened to be my whole world? Uhm, yeah and durr, but we're getting off track. I just know you, Papyrus, and I know you miss Dad. I mean, for fuck's sake, I do too, and not for nothing but I actually knew the guy, you know?"

            Papyrus nodded and smiled a little, staring at his hand in his brother's, but after a moment that smile began to fade.

            "Sans, why haven't you spoken to me about Father?"

            "You were always too young to understand, hell, I barely understood."

            "When we were children, yes, I think I get that, but why not mention it when we got older?"

            "You never asked by then."

            Papyrus slowly pulled his hand away. "And why didn't you ever tell me about the operation?"

            "We were kids, Paps, and you were fine so it didn't matter-"

            "WOULD YOU STOP SAYING WHETHER SOMETHING WOULD MATTER OR NOT?!" Papyrus raged. "OBVIOUSLY IT DOES OR WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME WHAT WAS GOING ON AND WHAT YOU HAD DONE!"

            Sans glared. "For what? For you to worry constantly because I could fall at any given moment? It would have eaten you from the inside out and you know it!"

            "I HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW! YOU HAD AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO TELL ME!"

            "Well, I didn't, so get over it! What would it have even mattered? You say I had plenty of opportunities to tell you, I also had plenty of opportunities to fall!"

            "BUT I COULD HAVE HELPED YOU!"

            "And what if you couldn't?! Did you ever think that there is the possibility that it might have been better to just let me turn to dust?!"

            **_SMACK!_**

            Sans blinked; a second ago he was looking at Papyrus and now he was looking at the floor and his cheek was numb. He glanced back up to see Papyrus rubbing the back of one hand.  He was livid.

            Papyrus turned on his heel and strode to the front door, and Sans could easily watch him from where he stood. Papyrus yanked open the door and paused. He only looked forward.

            "Fuck you, Sans."

            The door slammed shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like some brotherly angst to start off your weekend!


	2. What Friends are For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus goes to his best friend for venting purposes.  
> Sans finds there's someone else who knows a thing or two about keeping secrets.  
> But will this be enough to fix their first fight?

            Undyne had just gotten out of the shower when she heard the doorbell ring. She pulled on her short, dark blue bathrobe and tossed her towel over her shoulder.

            "Who in the world-?" she muttered, opening the door, and then she stared at the skeleton on her porch. "What the... You look like shit, Papyrus."

            He only nodded.

            "Get in here," Undyne said, making it sound like a borderline order. Papyrus nodded again and trudged inside.

            "Undyne? Who's here?" Alphys said, glancing down the hall.

            She took one look at Papyrus and turned to go into the kitchen to put on water for tea.

 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

  

            "You slapped him?" Alphys said.

            "He deserved it!" Undyne countered. "That was a really shitty thing to say!"

            "But, really-"

            "No!" Undyne stood, slamming her hands into the table. " _'It might have been better to let me turn to dust?'_ Is he suicidal? How do you say that to someone who not only went through hell to save your life but is your own brother?!"

            Alphys reached over and put her hand over Undyne's. "Please calm down, it's not making this any easier for Papyrus."

            Undyne looked over at the tall skeleton sitting at the head of their table. He was slowly sipping the tea he was given, looking exhausted and stretched past his emotional limits.

            "Hey, look," Undyne said, calming herself and sitting down again. "Sometimes dealing with siblings can be a huge pain in the ass. That's one of the reasons I don't live anywhere near my family. Maybe you two need some time apart; it sounds like you two haven't been without one another since the incident."

            Papyrus shook his head. "I just wish he would understand, but he seems so determined to go back to the void. He isn't listening to me, and I'm starting to think that he never did."

            “What do you mean?”

            Papyrus went silent. Alphys had the feeling that it was partly because she was there. Taking no offense from it, the yellow monster smiled, giving Undyne a nod before slipping out of the kitchen to find something else to do and give the two friends some privacy.

            “So, seriously, what do you mean that he’s not listening?” Undyne asked, scooting closer to the skeleton.

            Papyrus sighed, watching the tendrils of steam rising from his cup.

            “Come on, Papyrus, I’m your best friend, I think I know more about you than anyone else, besides Sans. You know you can tell me anything, I’ll keep whatever you want a secret, even from Alphys; you know she respects your privacy.”

            Flashes of memory came back to him, because did Undyne really know him as well as she thought? The soul operation, his Father, she knew some things about the years the two were on their own but she didn’t know it all. Papyrus knew that hi secrets were safe with her, but then he wondered if knowing would put her in some sort of danger later on.

            But maybe that was why Sans didn’t say as much as he felt he should have.

            “I also swore at him,” Papyrus mumbled.

            “What was that?”

            “I, uhm…”

            Papyrus motioned for Undyne to come closer and he whispered in her ear. When he pulled away a light dusting of orange blushing appeared on his cheekbones. It became a touch more prominent when Undyne laughed.

            “You said what? You?! Never thought I’d see the day!”

            Papyrus frowned at her slightly and took another sip of his tea and waited patiently for her to calm down.

            “Look, Papyrus, I’m sorry,” Undyne said, wiping a tear. “Just, you’re not one to swear,” she cleared her throat and sobered completely. “But I can see why; you must have been really pissed off.”

            “I was. I don’t think I have ever been so angry with someone in all my life.”

            “It happens.”

            “But I feel so terrible about it.”

            Undyne placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “Look, Papyrus, people fight sometimes – friends, besties, girlfriends, brothers, everyone who is in any sort of relationship with someone else. The hardest part is apologizing, especially when you’re not sure who is in the right. Maybe who was right doesn’t matter.”

            “But I’m still so angry with him!”

            “Well sure, he said something really shitty to you, you say he’s not listening to you, he’s keeping things from you, and your feelings are hurt, and rightfully so! Frankly, I’m on your side either way, because that’s what friends are for, but also I would tell you if you were in the wrong. I don’t think you are.”

            “But how do I fix this, Undyne? I’m still so mad, but I feel so sick about it. I want to forgive him but I don’t want him to think that it excuses what he did.”

            “Forgiving someone never excuses what they did, and you know you can tell him that if you’re that worried about it. Most importantly, I do think you both need to work this all out and you are only going to be able to work it through together.”

 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 

            Alphys had made herself busy by tidying up their den and living room while Undyne and Papyrus had their talk. She was passing by a window that faced their front yard when she saw a familiar blue and black figure coming up their porch.

            "Too soon!" She whimpered in a panic and she ran to the front door.

            The door flew open just as the small skeleton lifted a fist to knock. A panicked-looking Alphys pushed him back a little and quietly shut the door behind her, putting a claw to her lips to tell him to be silent.

            Sans frowned at her, but did as she wished.

            Once the door was closed, she turned him around and pushed him to sit on the steps of the porch and then dropped down beside him with a sigh.

            "Uhm, hey Alphys," he said slowly.

            "Hello, Sans," Alphys said. "Yes, Papyrus is here. He is in the kitchen talking to Undyne."

            "Oh, good, I figured he would be here. I know he was upset, and I wanted to make sure he was okay."

            "I don't know about okay, I'm letting the two of them just talk. Papyrus does seem pretty upset, but, and I could be wrong, but you seem a little upset, too. Why don't you talk to me for a bit?"

            Sans sighed, running the back of his head. "I guess you probably know that I’m the reason he’s upset. I don't know, Alphys, a lot of it you just wouldn't understand. It's complicated and, well," he shrugged almost helplessly.

            Alphys smiled at him. "Sans, I know you don't exactly tell everything to anyone. There are a million things about you that I don't know, I know there's even more that Undyne doesn't know, and I know you have kept things from your own brother," she put a hand on his kneecap. "I also know a thing or two about keeping secrets, Sans. We have a little more in common than you think."

            “Heh, thanks, I wish Papyrus was half as understanding as that.”

            “Well, Papyrus hasn’t really had a reason to keep anything from anyone. It doesn’t seem to be within his personality, either.”

            “He hasn’t had to do anything dangerous,” Sans’ voice took on a slightly darker tone. “He hasn’t been put in a position where the knowledge he has can unravel everything.”

            “He hasn’t been put in a situation where so many people were counting on them,” Alphys added, looking down at the ground, “and ended up messing up everything.”

            Sans put a hand on Alphys’ shoulder, giving her a sympathetic and understanding smile.

            “I don’t think he knows what it’s like to have just one person be your whole world,” Sans said with a sigh, leaning back on his hands. “It’s hard to make friends when all of your time and energy goes into taking care of a baby bones. I didn’t have time to put my trust in someone. It always made me laugh a little when Papyrus was obsessed with capturing a human, so obsessed with being popular; meanwhile, he actually had many good friends. There wasn’t really anyone in Snowdin who disliked him, even the dog guards despite that they gave him a hard time now and then.”

            The two of them were silent for a time as they revisited memories of their old lives, old sins they committed, new friendships they had forged; it had been a long road for them all and it was amazing that they had come together the way that they did.

            “Why do you keep things from your brother, Sans?” Alphys asked quietly after a while. “Why do you feel you can’t trust him?”

            Sans sighed, coming forward again to rest his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. “At first it was more because I thought he was too young to understand. When it came to the soul transplant, well he was just an infant, and at first we didn’t know it left such an effect on me until years later. But, seriously! Was I really supposed to tell my bro ‘oh, hey, by the way, this thing happened when you were just an infant and it turns out I may die at an early age because of it, and even though it’s not your fault you have a horrible guilt complex and will mother-hen me more than you already do!’ I mean, really Alphys.”

            Alphys snickered a bit; the comic side of Sans was showing as he tended to get a little animated as he spoke, and he changed his voice to add emphasis.

            “Well, I suppose that’s as good a reason as any, but still, you should have told him.”

            Sans sighed. “The only reason is because I’m trying to protect him.”

            “That was all well and good when you were children, but you’re both adults now. Is protecting him worth the possibility of losing his trust?”

            Sans sighed. “Of course not,” he muttered, but anger was bubbling under his breath.

            Despite all the sense Alphys made, Sans was still in charge of protecting Papyrus, always has been, always will be, no matter how old they got.

            "It's complicated, I just wish-"

 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 

            “I don’t know if I can do it, Undyne,” Papyrus said with a scowl as he stood from the table.

            “You have to do something, Papyrus, you can’t just sit here in my kitchen scowling and sipping tea for the rest of your life. You’re worth more than that! You’ve got to stand up to Sans! I can’t believe you’ve had no problem bugging him about his laziness but you won’t call him out on his bullshit!”

            Papyrus walked out of the kitchen with Undyne following. He knew he would have to confront Sans sooner or later, he was just preferring the later.

            “This is complicated!” Papyrus tried to justify his stance as he approached the front door. “I just wish-”

            Papyrus all but threw the front door open.

            “- that he would just understand!”

            Both brothers fell silent after they heard what they said in stereo. Papyrus stared at Sans, who slowly turned from his seat on the porch to stare up at him. Sans stood, turning on the step to face his brother.

            Alphys turned, looking between both brothers nervously. Undyne crossed her arms and glared daggers at Sans.

            Papyrus scratched the back of his head and opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. His mouth opened and shut a few times, each time he seemed to grow frustrated until he crossed his arms over his chest and also glared at Sans, as if daring him to speak.

            Sans waited patiently, an eye ridge raising higher each time his little brother made a false start, then when Papyrus crossed his arms, Sans scowled and shoved his hands into his pockets.

            Both refused to speak.

            Undyne growled.

           “Okay, that is **_it_**!” Undyne stomped her foot on the porch and they all winced at the sound of cracking wood.

            “U-Undyne?” Alphys stammered.

            “You two, backyard, **_now_**!!!”

            The fish monster grabbed Papyrus’ arm and dragged him back through the house.

            Sans and Alphys looked at each other, shrugged, and Alphys decided to lead him through the side gate.

            One of the reasons Undyne and Alphys had chosen their house was because of the very large backyard. Some of it was ripped up and spears were sticking out of the ground in various places. There were targets made of plywood and hay bales, a trampoline along one side of the yard, and a covered area with various dumbbells and weights.

            Undyne dragged Papyrus to one side of the yard. She stormed to where Alphys and Sans came in and grabbed the little skeleton by his hood.

            “Watch it!” Sans scowled at her.

            “You shut your yap, for once,” Undyne growled, dragging him to the side of the yard opposite Papyrus.

            Alphys frowned, moving to the deck near the house. Undyne stood in between the brothers.

            “All right, this is the only way for you guys to get over whatever the hell you all got yourselves into,” Undyne declared loud enough for them to hear. “You two are going to fight each other! No holds barred, no punches pulled, get all of your aggression out on each other right here! Right now!”

            Papyrus put a hand on his hip and one hand rubbed his chin. “Interesting.”

            Sans smirked and pulled one hand out of his pocket. “I’ll say.”

            Alphys covered her eyes with a whimper. “This is a bad idea.”

            Undyne grinned wildly. “Show me your passion! Let the battle begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for Chapter Three - Sans Vs. Papyrus!  
> Come chat with me on Tumblr! Ask me stuff and see what other things I find amusing!  
> [SoloShikigami on Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/soloshikigami)  
> Erm, just a small warning, my blog isn't always kid-friendly and SFW... Just so you know ^_^


	3. Sans Vs. Papyrus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The anger between the skeleton brothers has reached its peak!  
> Will Sans beat his little brother into submission or will Papyrus go too far?  
> Or will it be a stalemate?  
> Let's find out!

 

            “Well, come on, Papyrus,” Sans called out. “Give me your best attack!”

            Papyrus scowled, holding a hand out as if he was going to summon his first strike. Instead, he did a “check” on his brother – 1 Attack, 1 Defense, 3 HP.

            Well, at least getting the piece of his soul back restored some of his HP.

            “By all means, Brother, you go first!” Papyrus called back.

            Sans shrugged. “All right.”

            Suddenly, Sans was gone.

            _Uh oh,_ Papyrus thought.

            “Where did he-?” Alphys murmured.

            Sans suddenly appeared in front of Papyrus, barely half an inch from his outstretched hand which would touch Sans’ forehead if he reached just a bit. Papyrus only flinched slightly in surprise. Sans held his arms out, opening himself, grinning up at his little brother.

            “Your turn.”

            Papyrus looked at Sans curiously for a moment, then sighed and dropped his hand. Sans dropped his arms as well.

            Sans turned to Undyne. “This is fucking stupid, Undyne. We’re not going to fight each other.”

            “Oh, come on, you’re angry at each other, aren’t you?” Undyne asked.

            “Of course I’m angry with Sans! But I would never want to hurt him!” Papyrus exclaimed.

            Undyne rolled her eyes. “You mean you guys can’t get into a proper battle without hurting each other? Sheesh. You guys are such wienies.”

            Alphys was giggled with relief.

            “I dunno, Undyne, you have some really weird ideas on how to solve family problems,” Sans said with a small chuckle. He turned back to Papyrus. “Hey, come on, I’m sorry I made you mad, but I have my reasons.”

            Papyrus crossed his arms. “I have no reason to apologize to you.”

            Sans put his hands into his jacket pockets with a small shrug. “I’m not looking for an apology, bro, I’m sure I don’t deserve one. Come on, we still have some things to discuss, and uhm, just try not to slap me for it okay?”

            Papyrus relaxed a little but still looked annoyed. “As long as you knock off the ridiculous notions of being better off as dust.”

            Sans nodded. Papyrus did too.

            “Well, thanks for watching my lil’ bro, as usual,” Sans said, waving at Undyne, who had moved to sit next to Alphys. “And, uhm, you may want to get dressed.”

           Undyne looked down, realizing she was still just in her bathrobe. “Psh, like what you see, bone boy? Too bad, this fish has already been hooked,” she put an arm around Alphys’ shoulder with a grin.

            Alphys blushed so hard it was a wonder her face didn’t catch fire.

            “Hardly,” Sans said. “But thanks for throwing out a line anyway!”

            Papyrus grumbled over the bad pun and stalked passed him.

            “Get out of here, you goofballs,” Undyne waved at them.

            “Goodbye, Papyrus! Bye Sans! Remember, you can always talk to me!” Alphys called out.

            “Sure,” Sans said with a wave and the two skeletons left the backyard.

            Alphys turned and swatted Undyne on the shoulder. “Really, Undyne!”

            “What? I really thought that would help,” Undyne said. “Get the blood pumping and maybe get some senses knocked back into them!”

            “No! I mean you still in your bathrobe! You should have changed while I made us the tea!”

            Undyne grinned and leaned into Alphys. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

            “Hardly,” Alphys gave her a deadpanned look.

            Undyne smirked and pulled one lapel aside. “Do you want me to make you uncomfortable?” she said with a suggestive leer.

            Alphys blushed even harder. Undyne cackled and scooped her up to bring her into the house.

 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 

            Sans and Papyrus had decided to head into town. They stopped by a coffee shop – double espresso for Sans and a hot chocolate for Papyrus – wandered around for a bit, and then ended up at the park and sat on a bench, finishing up their drinks.

            “Listen, I really didn’t mean to make you upset,” Sans said after a few moments of silence.

            “I know,” Papyrus said with a sigh. “And I am sure you have your reasons for doing things the way that you do them, but aren’t things different now?”

            “They are, and you’re right. The only thing that hasn’t seemed to have changed was me. So what do you want me to do differently?”

            “I want you to tell me the truth when I ask you something, especially about things that happened in the past. I also don’t want you running off to do mysterious things without at least letting me know; you said earlier that you were going to find the void again on your own, meaning you weren’t going to tell me at all, weren’t you?”

           “That was originally the plan, yeah,” Sans admitted, looking at the ground. “I know you had a bad time there, I didn’t want to bring it up, but then you looked so upset I couldn’t just run off. Thinking about it now, it really would have been wrong for me to go looking for Dad without you.”

            Papyrus scoffed. “I think that’s the first thing we agreed on today.”

            “Yeah. Hey, listen, speaking of which, I am pretty serious about us going to go find Dad.”

            Papyrus tilted his head back to finish the rest of the hot chocolate, making a slight face as he realized it was bitter at the end. He nodded.

            “I was certain you were,” he said softly. “Please understand that I would like to see Father again. I miss him, you know that. But with the way he and Dr. Gaster are split, not to mention he tried to kill us, I mean, one of them can’t survive outside the void without the other, correct?”

            “With his soul split? No, of course not, not in a way where we would want him to exist.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Well, we could try to find a vessel of some kind, but it would only last so long. That’s something we have known for a long time, now, and it’s been confirmed recently.”

            “You mean our operation?”

            “Yeah, and what had happened to me.”

            Papyrus was silent, looking at his empty cup. “What did they say was wrong with me when I was a baby, Sans?”

            “If I remember right, it was a birth defect. Not many monsters live with birth defects, and especially not one that affects their soul. Yours was just so small, even for a baby, and you were weak,” Sans had long since set his coffee cup on the ground by his feet. He sat back now, stretching his arms across the back of the bench, head back, looking up at the sky, his eyes searching the clouds as if they played his memories for him. “You were so, so tiny, Papyrus. So tiny. While we were in the hospital with you when you first started having complications, I’d been in the maternity wing and I had seen quite a few newborn babies. Different-sized monsters aside, I could tell that your size wasn’t normal.”

            Papyrus looked over at Sans, who had an odd look on his face; a strange mix of nostalgia, sadness, and fear. For a moment he saw the young Sans, the little child frightened for his baby brother’s life, willing to do anything to fix it.

            “But we got through it,” Papyrus reminded him.

            “Heh, yeah, we did,” Sans smiled, reaching over to pat Papyrus on the shoulder.

            “I am a little confused why my body started to reject your soul piece, though.”

            “That I’m not too sure of myself. From what it sounded like, your soul eventually grew and repaired itself, maybe something in the void triggered it, maybe Dr. Gaster did something to you while you were unconscious. It’s a little hard to say.”

            “Father wouldn’t have allowed him to do anything.”

            Sans shook his head. “I wish I could be as sure as you are, Pap.”

            The smaller skeleton reached down for his cup, sipping one more time at the mostly-finished drink before standing and throwing the cup at a garbage can not too far away, feeling a small bit of satisfaction as the cup made a thudding sound inside. Papyrus also stood, walking over to the can to throw away his cup before jogging to catch up with Sans, who began walking back towards their house.

            “Why aren’t you?” Papyrus asked.

            Sans shoved his hands in his pockets. “Maybe it’s just been too long for me, but you and I have very different views about Dad.”

            “Well they can’t be that different.”

            Sans let out a humorless laugh. “Time changes a lot, and who knows what the void can do, already judging by what you told me…”

            Suddenly Sans felt his throat close up. He wasn’t really going to cry over this, was he?!

            “Sans?”

            He tried to answer, but no sound came out.

            “Hey, Sans? Are you all right?”

            Sans was still breathing, still walking, everything else seemed to be okay, so he looked up at Papyrus with a grin and a nod. Papyrus gave him a dubious look.

            “Sans,” Papyrus put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, stopping him and pulling him aside on the sidewalk so they weren’t in anyone’s way. “If something is wrong, tell me.”

            Sans went to speak, but again, his voice was mute.

            “Is it about Father?”

            Sans couldn’t help it anymore; he nodded and buried his face into Papyrus’ middle, wrapping his arms around him as tears began to fall and fighting to keep his breath even. Papyrus wrapped his arms lightly over Sans’ shoulders and gave him a few moments.

            “Come on, let’s go home.”

            Not wanting to let go or show his tear-stained face in public (Sans may not have high standards like Papyrus, but he still had some), a flash of blue magic surrounded them and the skeleton brothers disappeared from the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite proud of that fake-out ^_^  
> [Come yell at me on Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/soloshikigami)


	4. Trip Planning, Training, and Trip Taking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Papryrus talk a bit more, Papyrus decides if they're going to the Void he needs training, and Sans sees Snowdin again.

            “Sans?”

            “Papyrus.”

            “Sans, no, what are you doing?!”

            Silence.

            “Sans! Brother! Talk to me, what is going on?!?”

            “Papyrus, say your prayers.”

            “Wait! No, Sans! Don’t!”

            His hands couldn’t shield the bright white light. His scream went unheard as his molecules were torn apart and scattered as dust.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

            Papyrus sat straight up in bed and bumped heads with Sans, sending the small skeleton to the floor.

            “Ow, damn it,” Sans muttered, rubbing his head.

            “Owies!” Papyrus cried, holding his head. “S-sans? What are you doing in here?”

            Sans glared up at him from the floor. “You were having another nightmare! I was only trying to help,” he got to his feet and the frustration was quickly replaced with concern. “What happened? You were screaming my name.”

            “I was screaming?”

            “Yeah, bro.”

            Papyrus just looked at him blankly. He couldn’t remember his nightmare, he didn’t think he screamed.

            “I, I’m sorry I woke you, Sans, but I can’t remember anything.”

            Sans sighed and sat on the floor, crossing his legs. “Are you sure you’re okay? Whatever your nightmare was, you can tell me. I won’t be mad.”

            Papyrus sighed. “Really, I don’t remember.”

            Sans sighed and nodded.

           It had been a rough week for the brothers; though they had talked and promised to listen to each other better, it was far from perfect. They did agree that it was worth trying to find a way into the Void and see about getting their father back. Papyrus still thought it was way too dangerous, so Sans had given him the challenge to figure out how to make it less dangerous.

            The one thing that was first and foremost in Papyrus’ mind was that Dr. Gaster was a fighter; he knew how to use his powers well, and Papyrus still got an odd ache in his foot when he remembered how well. He begged Undyne to really train him this time and he thought he was successful in getting Sans to join in, but he spent most of the time talking with Alphys.

            Sans seemed to have his own ideas of preparation.

            “So, what is all of this?” Papyrus asked as Sans fanned out his papers across the kitchen table one night.

            “These are some of the notes that I had from when Dad was building the Core,” Sans explained. “I’m sorry that a lot of it is in Hands, but you got me to translate if it’s necessary. Honestly, a lot of this stuff would be a bit difficult to explain.”

            “I believe it,” Papyrus said, picking up a long piece of paper, turning it this way and that and tilting his head in an attempt to make some sense of it.

            “Heh, that’s upside down, bro.”

            “I knew that.”

            Sans grinned wider as Papyrus put the paper down and folded his hands behind his back.

            “I still don’t see how we’re going to get to the Void, especially if these notes are about the Core.” Papyrus said.

            “It was during the creation of the Core that Dad had fallen into the Void,” Sans explained. “He had it mostly built and ready to go, and on the first start-up something had gone very, very wrong. Anyone who would have any idea are gone, now; not only Dad but several of his assistants. Alphys was brilliant enough to interpret his notes and start the Core without ripping a hole in space and time. Now the machine I have in the back was meant to be part of the Core, but it was one of the pieces Alphys said was a reject, so I took it and started messing with it. Didn’t get very far yet.”

            Papyrus began pacing. “Well, I was in the room with it when I was taken to the Void; it’s possible that I started it up, though I was certain that I didn’t touch anything other than the note you had taped on. Father had explained to me that he was able to pull me through a weak hole between the Void and reality.”

            “Yeah, and you had said that he knocked you out? How did that even work?”

            “I think he used his magic to draw me in, too. Father cannot use much magic it seems, and it definitely isn’t as powerful as Dr. Gaster’s. He also had to use some chemical to relax me because travelling between the Void and reality can be quite painful, and I can tell you it was when I came back.”

            Sans nodded, taking in the entire explanation. Papyrus had explained it to him before of course, but it always helped to hear it several times.

            “I guess that is the only logical place to start,” Sans said. “I guess we’re going home.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

            Another week and few days went by; Papyrus seemed to spend almost all of his free time over at Undyne’s.

            “Was the fight against your dad that bad?” Undyne asked, leaning against a spear.

            “He was _not_ my Father,” Papyrus muttered, getting up after a rough blow and swiping the back of his hand across his cheek.

            “Sorry,” Undyne said. “You know, you are getting a lot better; a far cry from the skeleton that was kneeling on my porch begging me to make him part of the Royal Guard at two in the morning.”

            “Nyeh heh heh,” Papyrus laughed, cracking a smile for the first time during their session.

            Undyne returned the laugh and punched him in the shoulder. “Come on, punk, let’s take a break.”

            They sat on the edge of the porch with bottles of water. There were some birds apparently nest-building; they watched them fly to and from a tree and bringing back little branches in their beaks. Undyne took a deep breath; sometimes she still hardly believed that they were no longer living under the mountain.

            “So, you two are serious about all of this? Going back to Snowdin and everything?” Undyne asked.

            “Yeah,” Papyrus sighed.

           Sans and Papyrus had agreed to not tell anyone; they would all worry. Papyrus couldn’t help but tell Undyne, though, she was his best friend after all. Papyrus wasn’t much for keeping secrets, but one or two from his brother felt fair.

            “And you’re not telling anyone, still?”

            “You are the only one who knows,” Papyrus glanced to her. “You will still keep that a secret, yes?”

            “Of course,” Undyne pat him on the shoulder. “Look, just promise me that you two will be okay? I don’t like all of this science-y crap, that’s what I have Alphys for. Even when she does explain I still don’t always get it. How long do you think this will take you?”

            Papyrus shrugged. “I don’t know. I felt like I was only in the void for a few days, but I had been missing here for two weeks.”

            “Great,” Undyne sighed. “Well, whatever situation you two get yourselves into, just don’t give up, okay? Know that we’re waiting for you and it’s not cool to keep us waiting for too long.”

            Papyrus smiled and turned to hug her. “I promise.”

            Undyne hugged him back. “Because if you don’t,” she gripped him hard enough to make him gasp, “I’ll come after you both and kill you myself.”

            She let up a little and Papyrus sighed with relief.

            “Nyeh heh, deal,” he said, knowing her roughness was just her way of showing she cared.

            They parted, bumped fists, slid their open palms against one another’s, then curled their fingers so they caught one another’s and squeezed tight; their special promise to one another.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

            Papyrus groaned and held his head; he really, _really_ hated teleporting.

            “You okay there, bro?” Sans asked, helping to steady him.

            “How do you not get sick every time you do that?” Papyrus asked, readjusting the bag he was carrying that was filled with a few supplies.

            “I’ve been doing it a long, long time, Paps, I guess I’m just used to it. I think you can still count on your hands how many times you’ve teleported.”

            “That is a fair point.”

            “Come on, walking will do you some good.”

            They had teleported to the forest’s edge of Snowdin; Sans tended to keep his ability a secret and he didn’t want to scare anyone. Even among the most talented of magic-using monsters, teleporting was a very rare gift.

            It had been longer for Sans since he last saw the town; much like Papyrus had when he and Frisk walked through, he got pangs of nostalgia, but there were just about as many negatives as positives as the worst of the resets flashed through his mind briefly. He couldn’t help nudging Papyrus a bit with his elbow as they walked, confirming he was really there.

            The house still felt the same, maybe a little colder, his sock was still where he left it, and a very faint scent of spaghetti sauce was still hanging around.

            “So you started hearing Dad’s voice in here, huh?” Sans asked, walking around their living room as if inspecting every corner.

            “Yes, it was while I was looking at the blueprints I found in your lab,” Papyrus confirmed, still standing in the front doorway with his arms crossed, looking almost nervous.

            “Well, I guess that makes sense,” Sans said with a sigh. “I wonder if the machine has been emitting some form of energy to make the veil between Void and reality thin or weak. If so, why hasn’t Dr. Gaster found it and exploited it if his ultimate goal seems to be returning to reality to destroy humanity?”

            “Father told me that the holes shift and Dr. Gaster doesn’t want to move from where he has established his laboratory,” Papyrus reminded him. “Also, neither of them can exist in reality without merging again and Dr. Gaster really doesn't seem to like that idea.”

            Sans had finished circling the living room and leaned against the wall near the kitchen. He looked at the carpet as he mulled over Papyrus’ words and what he had learned so far.

            “Well, I guess that means that we are not too likely to meet up with him from the get-go,” Sans murmured.

            They were silent, Papyrus finally decided to step inside the rest of the way, flipping the light switch and shutting the door. An odd tension filled the air and it immediately made Papyrus uncomfortable.

            “I’M GOING TO MAKE US SOME SPAGHETTI!” he said cheerfully. “I’M SURE THAT WILL HELP US GAIN SOME INSIGHT TO OUR PROBLEM! CAN’T THINK ON AM EMPTY STOMACH, AFTER ALL!”

            Sans chuckled, watching Papyrus march to the kitchen and the sounds of pots and pans banging around immediately filled him with a sense of peace. He shuffled over the couch and plopped onto it, more waves of nostalgia washing over him. He closed his eyes briefly, and if it wasn’t the fact that a chill was still hanging in the air along with a slightly stale scent of a house that hadn’t been lived in for a long time, Sans could have sank completely into a memory.

            About a half an hour later, Papyrus had the spaghetti done and he mixed the sauce and pasta before spooning out two bowls. He walked out to the living room and paused at the sight of his older brother, slumped against the arm of the couch, fast asleep. He smiled and then chuckled.

            “Lazybones.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took me so long, you guys. I keep getting fic ideas, kind of forgot where exactly I was going with this one, and hopefully the fic will pick up the pace next chapter.  
> Thank you all for bearing with me! Love you all!


	5. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans wakes up in Snowdin, but is everything what it seems to be?  
> Papyrus' trust in his brother is a little shaky at the moment, and his newest revelation only breaks it more. Can he ever trust Sans again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a while, and it's a little rushed... But I'm eager to get to more exciting portions of the story so hopefully this means updating on a more regular basis, lol.  
> Thank you to everyone who has been reading, and another thanks to those leaving me comments, it really does keep me going!

            Sans opened his eyes slowly at first, but then they shot wide open when he saw his surroundings. A trash tornado spun in a corner, the treadmill in the center of the room, the window above his head… How did he get back here?!

            “No, no,” he muttered. “No, no, no, NO, NO!”

            Sans couldn’t remember the last time he moved so fast. He flew down the stairs and threw open the front door. A blanket of snow met his eyes, the cold wind was bitter in more ways than he could count, the darkness of their underground prison loomed in the distance.

            The short skeleton took a few shaking steps out into the snow before he fell to his knees in the stuff, ignoring how cold and wet it was making him.

            “Oh, stars, why,” he could barely speak. “Why, Frisk? Why would you-?”

            Sans broke down, falling forward in the snow, clutching his head as the hot tears that streamed down his face were a sharp contrast to the cold that otherwise surrounded him. Even if he had heard Papyrus’ footsteps approaching, he wouldn’t have cared.

            Papyrus had awoken with a start when he heard the front door slam open. He quickly went downstairs to see what was going on and was thrown into concern when he saw his brother’s crumpled form in the snow.

            “Sans? Sans, what’s wrong?” Papyrus asked, kneeling next to him and putting his hands on his brother’s shoulders.

            “They reset, they reset,” Sans murmured, losing his mind in the moment. “I can’t handle- I can’t… Being down here… Waiting… Just can’t…”

            "Sans, what are you talking about? We can go back home if you want.”

            Sans looked up at him. “Home?”

            “Yes, on the surface with everyone else? What’s gotten into you? What's a reset?"

            Sans' eyes went blank and he stopped breathing.

            Ohhhhh, shit.

            Papyrus looked down at his older brother, waiting for an answer, but the look on his face slowly melted from concern to an irritated gaze the longer the silence stretched.

            "Is this something else that you kept from me?" Papyrus asked flatly.

            "Hey, come on, now, this is different," Sans said hoarsely. "Even if I had told you, you wouldn't have remembered it anyway!"

            Papyrus stood and crossed his arms, not helping Sans to get to his own feet. Sans looked up at his brother with a frown, wishing he knew how to fix this. Papyrus' face was becoming unreadable as the minutes dragged.

            "Who else knows about these resets?" Papyrus asked in a quiet, flat voice.

            "Frisk does," Sans replied. "Look, don't get mad at them, too, they didn't know-"

            "Frisk is a child. I would like to think that they do not know any better," Papyrus interrupted, his voice still unsettlingly flat and neutral. "Anyone else?"

            "I don't think so. Dad had a theory on it but he didn't know they were real. I don't think those would have been notes that Alphys could have come across. Even if she did, it would be written in hands."

            Papyrus nodded. "Speaking of Father, we have a Void to find. I would feel better if we found it sooner rather than later." He turned towards the house. "I am going to make breakfast. Be in the kitchen in twenty minutes."

            With that, Papyrus walked quietly away.

            "Stars, damn it," Sans growled to himself, rubbing his eyes.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

            Papyrus was angry. Another lie, more secrets, and he had been foolish to be so certain that his brother had told him everything. It didn't really matter what these 'resets' were, at this point, it was the principle of the thing.

            While Papyrus had moved on from Undyne's explosive style of cooking and settled into one that made less of a mess, one would hardly think so if they watched Papyrus cook now. He threw the ingredients together with more force than was necessary, tomato sauce and bits of vegetable dotted the countertop and stove. Some bits of dried spaghetti also littered the countertop around the pan he was using.

            Papyrus pulled out two bowls from the cabinet (they hadn't taken all of their dishes for this exact reason) and served the spaghetti. Not bothering to wait for Sans, he sat and started eating.

            Part of Papyrus didn't think Sans would come in, thinking either he went off to do something or he would be too ashamed to come in after that revelation. Papyrus partially hoped that it was the latter. But his brother proved him wrong by shuffling into the kitchen and taking the seat across the table from him. Sans did, at least, have the decency to look like someone who made a huge mistake.

            Papyrus watched his older brother as he slowly picked up the fork and took a bite of the pasta.

            "Great job as always, Papyrus," Sans said, finally looking up at him.

            "Thank you, Sans."

            Sans shuddered a little at the cold tone was still in his little brother's voice.

            "Look, Paps, I'm sorry."

            "I know you are. What are you going to do today?"

            Papyrus sounded sincerely disinterested in his apology.

            “Well, I figured I would go and take a look at the machine, figured it was as good of a place to start as any.”

            “That sounds like a good idea.”

            Silence.

            “What are you going to do?”

            “Unless you think I can be of any help with that thing, I’m going to search around the house and listen for anything strange. Last time, I think Father was trying to speak to me because I kept hearing an odd voice speaking in, well, I guess it was hands.”

            “I remember you mentioning you kept having memories come back, like they were hallucinations or something,” Sans pointed out. “Anything like that happening?”

            “Now that you mention it, no,” Papyrus frowned slightly. “While it’s probably a good thing on the whole, do you think it means anything as far as finding a way to the Void?”

            Sans shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Let me know if anything weird happens.”

            “Of course,” Papyrus got up and put his bowl on the counter, deciding he would clean when Sans was finished eating. “I wouldn’t keep anything like that from you.”

            Sans winced as Papyrus walked past him. He deserved that, and more, and he knew it. Sans had half a mind to follow after Papyrus to try apologizing again, but he knew that right now his brother was very angry and it was best to leave him alone until he cooled down. It was unnerving to say the least, as Papyrus rarely got angry; frustrated with Sans’ puns and laziness, sure, but he was hard-pressed to recall a time that Papyrus was angry with him before their altercation a few weeks earlier.

            He felt sick and he pushed the bowl of spaghetti away from him, unable to eat anymore. With a sigh he left the table, knowing that there wasn’t a thing he could do about Papyrus and decided to just get to work on the machine.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

            Papyrus had been upstairs in his room, mostly pacing. Usually if he was upset, he would channel the energy into cleaning; last night he couldn’t sleep so he had cleaned the house until he was tired. The kitchen still had the mess from breakfast, but he was going to wait until he was certain that Sans had left.

            “Why are brothers so frustrating?” he mumbled, rubbing his face before going over to the window.

            Movement below caught his eye; Papyrus was a little surprised that Sans had walked all the way to the back to his lab instead of teleporting, but he was also thankful to know for certain that he wasn’t going to run into him for a little while. Still, to be sure, he paced for another ten minutes.

            Now that he was certain that his older brother wouldn’t be there, Papyrus went back down to the kitchen – the only room he knew needed cleaning. He grimaced at the mess; he must have been more upset than even he realized, but he shoved the thoughts out of his mind and set to work.

            After he finished cleaning the stove and the dishes in the sink, he turned to the table where Sans’ mostly untouched bowl of spaghetti sat, now cold. Papyrus sighed, picking it up and contemplating whether to just throw it away or save it. He hated wasting food.

            Suddenly, a cold chill swept over him, a familiar one, and it made his soul skip a beat. His hands began to shake as he stared down at the spaghetti.

            _“Nah, I already ate at Grillby’s. Sorry, I should have told you,” Sans said._

_Papyrus frowned; Sans hadn’t been home for dinner for nearly a week, and while he said he was going to the grease-trap he liked to frequent, he didn’t come home smelling of grease and fire like he usually would. His brother was lying to him and he didn’t know why._

            The sickening dizziness hit him like a brick wall and he nearly collapsed on top of the table.

            _“Are you sure you can trust your brother?” the little yellow flower asked, giving him a look of concern._

_“If I cannot trust my brother, then I cannot trust anyone else!”_

_“Then you don’t trust anybody, do you?”_

That last sentence, that voice was familiar, too.

            “No, no,” Papyrus shook his head, trying to straighten but only met vertigo when he did. “Not now, not here.”

            He figured his mind was just messing with him; there was no way that his father would say such a thing, and it was ludicrous that Dr. Gaster would have found him.

            Papyrus tried to stand up again, but his legs shook and he was positive that the room was spinning.

            “SANS!!!”

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

            Sans had chosen to walk to the back instead of teleporting mainly to stall. He was hoping that Papyrus would come back down and give him another chance to apologize or perhaps accept the one he gave at breakfast. But he reached the door without even hearing a sound from Papyrus.

            He must have been really, really pissed. Not that Sans blamed him.

            Sans was a little surprised to find the door to the lab unlocked, figuring that Papyrus likely just forgot to lock it (or didn’t have the opportunity to do so), but opened it up and stepped inside with caution anyway.

            The first thing he noticed was the sheet on the ground next to the machine. The sight of the thing made him shudder. The blueprint that was usually on the counter was currently with his things back in the living room, not that it would have helped too much now. He took a few steps inside and went to the drawer where he knew a picture lay inside. He hesitated, hand hovering over the drawer’s handle, wondering if he really wanted to look at it.

            “No, focus, have to focus,” Sans murmured, closing his fingers slowly. “No sense in dwelling right now.”

            Sans turned to the machine and approached it slowly, looking at it up and down with his eyes narrowed. He stepped inside, fingertips brushing across the many buttons and switches. His pinky bone caught a wire that sent a small jolt through him.

            “Ow,” he muttered, shaking his hand to rid himself of the sensation. “That was positively shocking, heh heh.”

            Sans looked over one panel as he then brushed over a switch, accidentally flipping it. He winced, waiting, but nothing seemed to happen.

            Sans then remembered he left a note on the machine somewhere, but it seemed to be gone now.

_“Sans, I’m sorry,” a younger Papyrus mumbled, curled into one side of the couch with his knees pulled to his chest. One of his hands was wrapped in a bandage._

_“I keep telling you to stay away from that room, Pap,” Sans said with a sigh, his hands deep in the pockets of his jacket. He looked exhausted. “You could have gotten hurt real bad.”_

_“If you would just tell me what it is, then maybe I wouldn’t get hurt,” Papyrus muttered. “I’m not stupid, you know.”_

_“If you’re not stupid, why don’t you ever listen to what I tell you?”_

_“You never tell me anything!” Papyrus’ voice rose._

_“I tell you everything.”_

_“No, you don’t,” Papyrus got to his feet, cradling his injured arm. He had surpassed Sans in height now, but only by about an inch. “Telling me to stay away from things doesn’t count as telling me anything.”_

_“It’s nothing that would interest you. All you need to know is that the equipment in my lab is dangerous and you need to stay away from it. You don’t like me in your room, don’t go into mine.”_

_Papyrus opened his mouth to protest, but then shut it and crossed his arms carefully. “Fine, brother, you win this round.”_

_Sans smiled and wrapped his arms around Papyrus, who slowly loosened his angry and defensive stance and hugged him back._

_“I just don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to you.”_

_“Sans?”_

_“What?”_

            “SANS!”

            Sans shook his head. “Papyrus?”

            How long had he spaced out for? His brother’s scream penetrated the walls easily; their kitchen was just on the other side.

            “SANS! HELP!!!”

            “Papyrus?! I’m coming!” Sans shouted.

            He teleported, but the moment his lab faded he knew something was very wrong. For one, he didn’t immediately pop into their kitchen, and being just a wall away it should have been instantaneous. No, instead, he found himself suffocating, unable to speak, and an odd hum of energy that made every bone in his body shake.

           Sans flailed, trying to find purchase somewhere, he opened his mouth to call or scream, but nothing came out. The colorful swirls of the void he teleported through began to fade and his movements began to slow.

            “Sans? Sans! Hold on!” a voice called from a distance.

            The message repeated in an odd tone.

            But the voice faded along with everything else and then Sans knew nothing further.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I have a Tumblr! Come join in my Friday Night Chaos!  
> [SoloShikigami on Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/soloshikigami)


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